But it will be the first time that Fuzhou students have visited Lincoln. "Each of the five Chinese students is paired with a US counterpart so they can learn from each other," said Zeng Shuhuang, principal of the Fuzhou school. She said the two sides were confident that exchanges between the schools would be strengthened.

Kameron, who plays right offensive tackle for Lincoln's football team, was quite excited when learning that his school and the Fuzhou school might step up exchanges in sports.

"The people who don't know football think the sport is violent, but in fact it can bound people who play and the people you play against," he said. "In football you don't fight for yourself, you fight for your brothers."

Diote Simon, also a football player, agreed that football taught him about life. "It [sports exchanges between the two schools] will be a good experience for our guys and also good for the Chinese guys," he said.

"If I get to be an exchange student in China, I'd love to learn how to play ping pong," said Kameron. "It's fun to watch but I just don't know how they curve it."

The two proud youngsters said 50 players of their team will put on a drill for the visiting president. They have also prepared a special gift for their guest. "It's going to be personal and American," they said. "And it's a secret."

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com